Aurora musical set to take audience ‘under the sea’

It’s musical year in Aurora and after much suspense, Aurora High School vocal music teacher Jason Frew has released the news everyone (mermaid or not) has been waiting for. 
Somewhere, under the sea, “The Little Mermaid” fans are screaming.
Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” will hit the stage March 23-25, with performances at 7 p.m. and a matinee performance Saturday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m.
Tickets went on sale Feb. 27 and 24 hours later were already 75 percent sold, Frew advised. Musical hopefuls may want to snag whatever is left soon. 
“That was really exciting,” he said of the response to opening ticket sales. “It’s really cool that in a small community like this that there’s that much excitement and eagerness to watch shows that we put on. As always, these kids are gonna do an amazing job.”
The selection of “The Little Mermaid” as this year’s musical, and keeping it a secret for so long, was no easy task. 
“I love teaching and I love sharing my passion of music with the kids, but one of the side perks that gives me just as much joy is keeping that secret as long as possible and taunting and tormenting people,” Frew said with a laugh. “So it is nice that it’s out in the open now. It’s easier and I don’t have to necessarily hide my research.”
There are a number of factors that play into the decision-making process when selecting the musical, Frew explained. 
“There is a large list of criteria that I get to go through when I’m picking a musical,” he said. “Everything from making sure that no matter what part it is, we have enough voices that are capable of doing it, and more. If you’ve got a musical that has three tenors that wail away the entire time, you need to have at least three tenors that can do that, healthy, throughout the entire spring.”
Frew said he takes his students into consideration this way when picking a show. 
“Longevity is stamina. That’s something you have to keep in mind,” he furthered. “I also always want to have one that has a large cast, so anybody that’s wanting to be in the musical can be in it. And I love having ones that have some dancing, because it adds another layer of excitement to it.” 
Something as popular as a Disney original like “The Little Mermaid” will also be perfect for a wide array of audience members, he agreed.
“I want to have one that’s fun and accessible to an entire family,” he noted. “I want little girls to come dressed up as Ariel or princesses to the musical. Please come in your Little Mermaid dresses!”
And, once again, the Huskies are set to raise the bar. Expectations and plans for this year’s star-studded event are likely to blow prior performances out of the water.
“This is a big undertaking,” Frew admitted. “We’ll have the video board backdrop again like we did with Newsies. Those same LED boards that are in the gyms -- we’re going to have a 33-foot one across the back of the stage. We’re even going to be flying kids this year.”
The cast, crew and directors plan to pull out all the stops, he agreed. 
“It’s going to be really fun,” Frew said. “(There is) a lot of work still to do, but we’re excited and eager.”
Aurora High School’s production of The Little Mermaid includes the following cast members (with understudies in parenthesis), not including the ensemble: Emma Bullerman (Annalese Talkington) as Ariel; Aiden Bish (Dawson Stolpe) as Prince Eric; Gabriel Peterson (Scott Bennett) as Grimsby; Jenna Carlson (Abigail Wendt) as Flounder; Wyatt James (Trenten Stevens) as Scuttle; Andrew Reed (Lucas Talkington)  as King Triton; Martin Holke (Jacob Inman) as Sebastian; Kylie Svoboda (Sofia Hendrickson) as Ursula; Dawson Stolpe (Ryan Johnson) as Flotsam; Sofia Hendrickson (Jorja Pohlmeier) as Jetsam; Jacob Inman (Owen Luebbe) as Chef Louis; Mersisters: Annalese Talkington as Aquata, Meredith Sanderson (Sarah Springer) as Andrina, Grayce Gustafson (Savanna James) as Arista, Ella Curtis (Micole Yockey) as Atina, Eva Yllescas (Elizabeth Wells) as Adella, and Abigail Wendt (Sydney Thomas) as Allana; Wyatt Kenney as Pilot; Samantha Lantzer (Spencer Griess) as Windward; Lena Groetzinger (Jordyn Wells) as Leeward; Seagulls: Dannica Egger, Hanna Janda, Naela Merrihew, Tainee Merrihew, Madeline Raemakers, Sidney Thomas, Ellie Brown and Mady Brown; Jorja Pohlmeier (Sydney Thomas) as Maid Celine; Sarah Springer (Hannah Janda) as Maid Delphine; Micole Yockey as Maid Josephine; Kadence Kunze (Jordyn Wells) as Maid Pauline; Chefs: Ryan Johnson, Lucas Talkington, Spencer Griess, Trenten Stevens, Owen Luebbe, Hanna Janda, Sidney Thomas, Scott Bennett, Torri Danhauer, Savanna James, Wyatt Kenney and Jordyn Wells; Kadence Kunze (Jordyn Wells) as Princess Bernadette; Micole Yockey (Savanna James) as Princess Celeste; Elizabeth Wells (Micole Yockey) as Princess Jeanne; Sydney Thomas (Micole Yockey) as Princess Cecile; Jorja Pohlmeier (Hannah Janda) as Princess Genevieve and Sarah Springer (Savanna James) as Princess Amelie. 
Ensemble members include: Scott Bennett, Rowan Bennett, Emma Broman, Ellie Brown, Lilli Champion, Brooklyn Christensen, Torri Danhauer, Gianna Doan, Katie Dunham, Dannica Egger, Ella Eggleston, Charles Evans, Dane Faber, Kate Glinn, Emily Green, Spencer Griess, Lena Groetzinger, Avery Grudzinski, Aurora Hamilton, Jasmine Hansen, Laura Hansen, Layton Hohm, Jacob Inman, Savanna James, Hanna Janda, Cadence Jarzynka, Lyndsay Jensen, Kaylee Jensen, Ryan Johnson, Zoe Johnson, Annalise Jones, Wyatt Kenney, Kennedy Kleinschmidt, Mackenzie Kluck, Jordan Kohl, Clemens Kramer, Kadence Kunze, Samantha Lantzer, Cameron Logue, Owen Luebbe, Alžběta Maříková, Kenna Merrihew, Naela Merrihew, Tainee Merrihew, Lyla Mitchell, Cheyenne Morris, Briana Onnen, Kaitlyn Oswald, Makenna Oswald, Piper Oswald, Jorja Pohlmeier, Madelyn Ramaekers, Mayzi Retzlaff, Chloe Spady, Sarah Springer, Trenten Stevens, Lucas Talkington, Breanna Telford, Aoi Togawa, Sydney Thomas, Hannah Vermillion, Camdyn Vermillion, Aleah Vinkenberg, Elizabeth Wells, Jordyn Wells, Kaetlyn Young and Micole Yockey.